Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolent movement to free India from British colonial rule inspired American civil rights activists who had immersed themselves in Ghandi's teachings and viewed non-violence as an effective way to challenge the tyranny of the Jim Crow South.

The Freedom Riders represented a cross-section of America - black and white, young and old, religious and secular. "The Freedom Rides were trying to say to America: we are a diverse country - let's act like a diverse country, where every part of the diversity is equal, and is treated equally," says Freedom Rider Rabbi Israel Dresner.